The BIG Reveal--Befores & Afters!

Okay peeps. Remember how I mentioned earlier this year that I was sick and tired of my backyard lawns and was planning to get rid of them? I was visualizing replacing them with something like this checkerboard motif?  

Courtesy of Pinterest

But then I also found this photo on Pinterest.

Photo courtesy of Pinterest

I really like the formal-informality of it. I like the idea that the elements are mismatched and interesting and form a design hinting of both whimsy and antiquity. Is it my (admittedly somewhat fantastical) imagination or does this circle look like an unearthed relic from the past? 

Well, hot dang. In early March, I caught the vision and it was time to say bye, bye lawn! 

There were two lawns to get rid of. I've always referred to them as my "North Lawn" and my "South Lawn" because this sounds kind of elaborate and fantastical like my imagination. Like I live on a many-acre estate or something. Hardly. But anyway, first, the North Lawn: 

Before: 

Here is a photo taken last summer of a section of the North Lawn.

You can see that it's not very big. Maybe 15 feet at its widest.
Hardly estate-worthy.

Here it is in late summer. No matter how much water and fertilizer I dumped on it,
by the end of summer it always looked like this.
I hated it.

Here it is after the application of lawn death this past March. 

A muddy, icky mess. 

Me no likey! 

At this point, I was committed. And a little terrified. 

Fortunately I have a son who is a great scavenger. He found bricks. 

I found more bricks at the Habitat For Humanity ReStore near my work. 

I'd go there on my lunch hour, once or twice a week to get a bunch of whatever they had. 

My hubby, bless his heart, dug the lawn out and leveled it off.
I laid an old bed sheet which, by the way makes a cheap weed barrier. 

Then, I started playing with the bricks and other pieces.
Lots of adjusting and filling in and leveling was in order.
To the left, you can see the beginnings of a gravel pathway.

Getting closer to completion.

Still some leveling and a few more pieces to finish up. 

It's still not perfect. I'm letting it settle and will continue to work with it until it's just right.
But it looks much better than a stupid, needy, never satisfied lawn. 

And now, the South Lawn

Early summer. It looks so pretty, doesn't it? 

But not for long. 

For reasons that elude me, I didn't pick a photo depicting the peril of 

the late summer South Lawn but I'm sure you've seen a dead lawn before

and know what it looks like.

Speaking of dead lawns, here is a photo from March of this year.
Bye, bye you sad, sad grass. 

Once the dead grass was gone and I caught a vision for how this area would look,
I  laid another sheet and began arranging the bricks. 

Patience was demanded of me while I worked my magic.
And it didn't hurt that we had less-than average rain fall. 

It took lots of moving and shifting to design a pattern I liked. My daughters helped. 

Once I got the bricks mostly in place, I added soil.
On the right is the gravel pathway, not quite finished.

This hedge would be removed and new sun-loving plants would inhabit this border.

My idea was to plant low-growing Thyme in the spaces between the bricks.
I already had a bunch of it in another spot so I dug, divided and replanted. 

Here, the Thyme is taking hold. 

I added low-growing "Stepable" succulents too. 

Notice the hedge is gone and I've got a few of the new plants situated.

Here is a more recent photo. Catmint, Gaura, Sedum, Eryngium, Echinacea, Buddleia lindleyana.
Behind the newbies are the established plants, variegated Dogwood, Lespedeza thungergii, Spiraea, Fejoia, etc., 

Still working on the other border. 

And here it is just a few days ago, coming along nicely.
I'm still waiting (not very patiently) for the Cannas in that back corner to get tall enough to see.
They're taking forever! 

So there you have it.

It's a work in progress and won't ever be "finished" but you can be sure

that when it's getting close, 

I'll have some other grand idea to try. 

It's how I roll. 

Thanks for visiting!